Success

Supporting the entrepreneurs of tomorrow

An affordable education at Chico State enabled me to have the capital to start my company.

College is the best time to launch a start up, says Andrew Gazdecki.

He knows this firsthand: A win in the Center for Entrepreneurship’s fall 2010 Business Concept Competition for his startup, Bizness Apps, attracted angel investors. And before Andrew graduated in 2011, he was CEO of his own global high-tech company.

Bizness Apps provides DIY mobile app design software for small businesses. It’s been featured in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

Andrew chose to come to Chico State because of its stellar business program. “Tons of classes and programs, great teachers,” he says of his experience.

Andrew also connected with a valuable network of mentors while in college. Among them is Robert Strazzarino, a 2006 grad, who also launched a startup while at Chico State.

After spending hours trying to schedule his courses, Robert designed software that did it better. By the time he was a junior, half of the student body was testing out his system. Soon Chico State became his first paying client.

“An affordable education at Chico State as opposed to an expensive private school enabled me to have the capital to start my company without outside investors,” says Robert, who also received several scholarships from the University. “As a computer science major, I had professors excited about the actual software. I also took business classes, and my business law instructor allowed me to present my startup to the entire class.”

Now, his College Scheduler clients include more than three dozen colleges across the country.

Robert is committed to mentoring the next generation of entrepreneurs. He is often at Chico State, guest lecturing or meeting with students from the Collegiate Entrepreneurial Association.

Read more about Robert, Andrew, and other young alums defining success in the 21st century in Chico Statements.

Alum Andrew Gazdecki started his successful Bizness Apps while a student at Chico State.